That Sandy Eggo show was awesomely great.... first Dog show for me in a long while....well worth the wait. Wake up Lil Suzy with Keller was definately a treat. I liked the whole show but I was looking for Izzie to bolt to the restroom when the opening notes of Black Peter started...LOL

Oh what fun!!! It was a beautiful day...I heard some cool muzak...sounded like Keller Williams....wait, he was onstage whilst the folks were entering. Said "hi" to the boat people...found my seat, wandered, had a drink, found friends who gave us their seats, which were closer & had more dancin' room...Bobby came up onstage & did a nice little Wake Up Little Suzie w/ Keller....waiting in line for my first Humphrey's Iced Tea......then Ratdog came up....started playing Playing...whilst I was still in line...everyone was dancin' & singing & waiting...ran around everywhere dancin & spinnin free...heard a nice Dark Star...kept going over & saying "hi" to the boat people, also said hi to the front row people too...everyone was having fun! What a nice night. Kimock was great with the Dog....loved Kimock....missed Mark & sent good healing vibes to him. Yelled, and barked at the Dog...Whoo hoooo, ruff, ruff, ruff!!!

first of all the harrahs casino venue gets a big thumbs up . fits 2,500 people , lawn chairs are welcome . my only complaint was it was just a scosh to loud . more towards room temp would be better . ( at least for me ) .
the first three songs started off a few beats slower than normal , BUT things really started to groove with a sweet dark star , and continued the rest of the night .
rat dog played one 2 1/2 hour set . i like the 2 set scene better .
ALWAYS GOOD TO HEAR GRATEFULL DEAD MUSIC

RatDog at the Aragon Ballroom on Chicago’s Northside, I return to the place of my birth, foot-stomping, arm-flailing song salvation. Oh, Kate Ann, fellow traveler from Miami, finding you there was tops, after all we’ve been through, and I can barely let you go. That sweet little scene in the city parking lot, I get the dancing bears I’ve been searching for. Show starts at seven sharp, Keller tries to entertain, muddy sound echoes off pillars, balconies, turrets and sundry Spanish castle motifs until Bobby comes out “to save the day” and “work out the glitch.” Race is On and Birdsong with Keller, good for what ails me, stompin’ happy sad sing-a-longs.

I move down and upstairs, through the general admission mesh, chat sound and setlists with Barrington-Illinois-taper-dude-originally-from-Ohio. When the Dog comes out settle for sound strong enough to restart a heartbeat, coming through the wooden floor suspended on springs, my bones rattle, the mechanism clears. Playin heats up into Tomorrow Never Knows, John Lennon’s Tibetan Book of the Dead mind-expansion-ego-death tribute and the Beatlemaniac-Deadhead-Doghead broken-hearted lover remembers Mama [God rest her soul] Said you’ll be sorry…I look heavenward, at constellations twinkling on the ceiling, swirl through Senor, poignant Dylan, and then oh my god Loose Lucy. I’m known as Lulu in another time and place and suddenly I’m slipping through dark alleys and running Chicago streets, it all floods back and I move and groove to Lucy, strong enough to be a set closer but no, there’s more, a playful Book of Rules, the Heptones tune, into wonders-never-cease Bertha and I remember everyone I’ve visited in jail and how much I love running through rainstorms. Bertha builds, smokes, explodes into a set closer. The sound is muddy and blitzed and I need to really hear the show. I order soundboards during the break at the Dog Merchandise table. Listening now, they’re almost too clean, but I feel it in my chest still.

A short 15 minute break and Bobby returns with Winners and Dylan’s Masters of War and can-it-really-be, Althea? Yes, with dueling rhythm guitars as Keller reappears and a horn section, this is Chicago, a trumpet and another saxophone and now Kenny leads the free for all, tight and loose, crazy and beautiful, “I told Althea…this place is getting hot…” sweat pours down, this much fun should be illegal but instead the band slips into Iko Iko oh my and the joint is jumping and Keller says his girl is “dressed in orange and squeaks like a door hinge” and the crowd unhinges and the nine man band stays together for Sugaree, the show peaks and I’m under the stacks now, front row, stage left, to study Steve Kimock, new lead guitarist, because I need to know where those notes are coming from. It’s the quiet guy, barefoot, sitting on a stool and I’m transported to my father’s funeral, “when they bring that wagon round.” I’m sad and happy and shake it, shake it and the horn section wails, squeals, when’s the next show, why don’t I go on the road with this band, I love it more than anything, three more songs and I’m in line for show CDs, watching 4000 plus happy fans pour out into the street, warm summer night, hippies move through the Kinetic Playground, across the street and Bobby sings Ramble On Rose, through the open door. The “L” trains come and go, come and go, at the Lawrence station. I’m a bit deaf, a tad lame, pierced and on the mend, blown away, the show, the Aragon.

RamblonRoze returns to the place of her birth and RatDog was hot, so hot she bought the show CD and is listening right now. Waiting for her ride after the after, Bobby belted out her sonRamble On Rose from the Kinetic Playground, the doors were open across the street and hippies were flowing in and out of the bar. So right, is this the best place for Weirheads to post? She misses the old forum. Someone clue her in. Show Review of Bobby's cure for heartache triumphant return to Chitown to follow.

I caught the show last night, it was sweet! There was a great duo solo with Keller doing Run for The Roses. I thought Kimock did a real good job. I thought Bob was having a real good time and enjoying it a whole bunch. I don't think there will be a Dead show for a long time to come, if ever.

Any have an opinion on how Kimock is doing in covering for MK? I know Kimock is a great guitar player but I woundered from anyone who has seen the July shows with him in the lineup how the chemistry is and what not.

Taking my 7mo. old to her first show tonight (glad it's outdoors), thank you for being smoke-free Columbus~!

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